JUPITER, Fla. -- Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith is heading out on the campaign trail for the next 30 days. His platform? To turn Major League Baseball's Opening Day into a national holiday.

Smith announced the initiative on Tuesday and has partnered with St. Louis-based company Budweiser to get a petition to the White House before the 2014 season opens in full on Monday, March 31. He will, however, need plenty of support in getting the proposal all the way to the White House.

A petition, which launched Tuesday on WhiteHouse.gov, requires 100,000 signatures within 30 days in order to advance to an administration review and response. Smith's campaign strategy includes the release of an online video series that will highlight the significance of Opening Day.

Those videos, which will be released periodically over the next month, can be viewed by visiting www.Budweiser.com/Opening-Day.

Smith, a 13-time Gold Glove Award winner who is working as a guest instructor for the Cardinals during Spring Training, is expected to discuss his additional campaign plans and passion for this initiative with reporters on Tuesday.

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Total Signatures On Petition As of 2/25/14: 269

Signatures Nedded By 3/26/14: 99,731

IF YOU LOVE BASEBALL AND WANT TO ENJOY OPENING DAY WATHCHING A DAY OF BASEBALL, EVEN IF TIS FROM YOUR OWN LIVING ROOM, SIGN AND GET YOUR FRIENDS NAD FAMILY TO SIGN TIS PETITION.

Posted by tecwrg on 2/25/2014 3:36:00 PM (view original):It would be better if the Super Bowl was moved to a Saturday night.

+******* 1

I have no clue why they don't do it. It's not like they play the week before. Don't give me "Primetime TV" B.S. It's the Superbowl. People will watch. I almost wished that they had to change this past years to Saturday because of weather issues. Would have loved to see how the ratings would have been.